


Head Above Water

by lessislaur



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, College, F/F, F/M, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:08:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26369227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lessislaur/pseuds/lessislaur
Summary: College AU. Percy Jackson has transferred to Olympus University for the start of his junior year. Annabeth Chase is trying to keep up with the pressures she's put on herself all her life. When they end up seated next to each other in class, what follows is a relationship that neither of them expected.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Thalia Grace/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is the result of me having way too much time on my hands. Hope you enjoy :)

Percy  
“Alright, I think that’s everything,” my mom, Sally, said as she ran her hands through her hair, trying to guide her flyaways back into her ponytail. “Are you feeling ready? I know you’re nervous about transferring but we’re going to make this work.”  
I sighed, not wanting to think about it. It was stressful enough switching schools when I was a kid, but being 20 years old and switching schools was a different experience. Plastering a smile on my face, I responded, “Yeah. I’m really excited to get to use that nice Olympics-grade swimming pool for practice!”  
When it became clear that I was going to have to find a new school to finish my education at, Olympus University was my first choice. It had an incredible swim and dive team and they were willing to give me a lot of money to win races for them. My mom reached an arm out and pulled me toward her side as she surveyed the tiny dorm room that would be my home for the next school year.  
“Do you know when your roommate is getting here? What’s his name again…?” she trailed off as she walked toward the door and checked the name tags. “Jason. Do you know when Jason is getting here?”  
“I think he’s moving in later today. He’s been driving cross country from California.”  
“Okay, do you want to get lunch with Paul, Estelle, and I? We’ll probably head out after we eat,” my mom’s eyes started shining with tears when she mentioned heading out.  
“Yeah, I’d love to! I’m still not really sure of restaurants or anything around here yet so I can google what’s available if you don’t know where you want to go yet,” I started sliding my phone out of my pocket to look it up when my mom started speaking.  
“I saw this restaurant called The Morning Catch a few blocks away. Given how close we are to the ocean, I’m sure the seafood here is incredible.”  
“Sure, sounds good,” I replied. “Hey, speaking of the ocean, do you know if Dad is going to come visit at all?”  
My dad was a big shot environmental lawyer who focused mainly on protecting the ocean from various groups who were threatening the ecosystems there. Oil spills, trash islands, and everything in between, my dad was ready to fight for the fish.  
“Oh, honey, I’m sure he’ll try and visit you at some point. You know how busy he is,” my mom rubbed my arm sympathetically. Yes, my dad being an environmental lawyer was cool and inspiring, but it also kept him insanely busy. He and my mom had dated while he was going through law school and she was writing her first novel, and I wasn’t exactly planned. They split once my mom decided she wanted someone who wasn’t married to his work and they did their best to co-parent me but my mom was definitely my primary caregiver. It all worked out for the both of them though because my dad was happy in his career and my mom was a successful novelist and had married Paul when I was 15.  
“Yeah, I know. I’ll try texting him later. Where exactly is The Morning Catch?” I asked, opening the door and walking out into the hallway.  
“I’ll pull up the directions on my phone while we wait for the elevator. Will you text Paul and let him know we’re on our way down to the car?”  
“Sure,” I said, pulling my phone out again and swiping to my text conversation with my step dad. After tapping out a quick notification, I leaned against the wall by the elevator bay and started tapping my fingers against my thigh.  
“You remembered your skateboard, right, hon?” My mom asked.  
“Yeah, of course,” I responded. “There’s no chance I would forget that,” I laughed.  
“I just wanted to make sure. Is there anything you can think of that you forgot? Toothpaste? Deodorant?”  
“I think I have everything, but if I don’t there’s a Target downtown within walking distance.”  
The elevator dinged and opened in front of us. After an awkward ride down from the fifth floor with various people adding themselves and their empty duffel bags to the car, we finally made it to Paul and my toddler sister. Estelle had started playing with her Barbies outside the car and Paul was leaning against the hood, annotating a Shakespeare play while watching her.  
“The life of an English teacher,” my mom smiled. That was one thing I definitely didn’t miss about high school. Having your step dad in the building was great if you needed lunch money or a guardian’s signature, but the second you screwed up everyone knew. Paul glanced up from his book and saw us, lifting up a hand in a wave.  
“Hey!” he called. “Estelle, honey, grab your Barbies. It’s time for lunch!”  
Estelle grabbed her dolls in her toddler sized fists and waddled over to my mom who picked her up and opened the car door, then started buckling her in. Paul cuffed me on the shoulder as I walked over to my seat in the back of the car next to Estelle.  
“You’re going to do great things this year, Percy. This school feels right for you,” he smiled.  
“I sure hope so. It’s not like things can get any worse,” I managed a weak smile in response then climbed into the seat.

Annabeth  
“God, Piper, you’d think we were freshmen with how much stuff you forgot,” I groaned, surveying the disaster zone that was currently our dorm room.  
“It’s fine, I’ll just go to Target and buy a toothbrush and toothpaste,” she responded with an eye roll.  
“And a laptop charger? And school supplies? And, oh, I don’t know, a backpack?” I prompted. “Seriously, how did you forget your backpack? We’re here for school!”  
“I don’t know, my dad’s new assistant was really stressing me out when I was packing because she wanted a carefully curated family shot to commemorate me going back to college so my dad’s followers could see what a loving father he is.”  
Piper and her dad really did have a great relationship. Piper and her dad’s assistants who managed his social media accounts and the paparazzi and often kept Piper from seeing her movie star father did not have great relationships. It wasn’t any better with Piper’s mother, who was one of the supermodel it girls of the nineties. Her parents had gotten married in the late nineties and split once her mom found a younger man when Piper was six. While Piper’s dad knew her well and took the time to make sure Piper was happy, her mother often focused more on the girlier aspects of life, like makeovers and boy problems. According to Piper, she was great to have around for things like prom and first dates, but not the most helpful when it came to anything else.  
I checked my watch and scowled when I saw the time reading 1:34.  
“Where’s Rachel? I thought she was getting here at 1:15,” I commented. Rachel Dare was our third roommate. We’d used our upperclassmen status to grab the only triple room with an attached bathroom and kitchen available on our floor. Our dorm building, Calliope Hall, was one of the newest residences on campus and we had gotten one of the nicest rooms. The floors were co-ed but split into two halves so that one RA didn’t have to put up with too many stupid, drunk college kids.  
“She’s probably on her way. You know Rachel, she moves when the world guides her,” Piper said as she stuck her star chart poster to the wall with Command strips. After coming to college, Rachel had continued her rebellion against her CEO father and gotten really into crystals and auras and astrology.  
“You’re right,” I sighed, turning to the wall by my bed and starting to put my photos up. I had just pushed the pin into the one of my mom and I in front of the Parthenon when the door slammed open and Rachel appeared with her arms full of pillows and blankets.  
“Sorry I’m late,” she huffed, going on tiptoes and trying to throw the bedding onto the only open bed. Some of the pillows fell to the floor. “Traffic was a nightmare and my dad wouldn’t let me leave without taking a company car,” she rolled her eyes.  
“It’s fine,” Piper smiled, picking up one of the fallen pillows and nestling it onto the couch. Our room was nice and large, with three loft beds organized in a U formation on the opposite end of the room from the door. We’d brought a couch and tucked it under one of the loft beds, with the TV on top of the desk under Rachel’s bed. I’d taken the loft bed against the back wall, which had a small window above my desk which sat underneath it. We had a large closet against the wall with the door, which was broken into three smaller sections for our clothes. There was a door on the left once you entered that led to a small kitchen and a door on the right that led to our bathroom.  
“I have to go let my dad’s driver up and grab some more of my stuff, so I’ll be right back,” Rachel raced out the door. If I didn’t know that Rachel’s energy came from running on energy drinks and double shot espressos, I would be jealous of it. I climbed down from my bed and pulled my PlayStation out of its carrying case and went to work connecting it to the TV. All three of us had a different preferred gaming console, mine being PlayStation, Piper’s being Nintendo Switch, and Rachel’s being Xbox, so our room often ended up looking like one serious gamer lived there, even though it was just the three of us. I turned to look at Piper, who was now out of her bed and plugging in her vintage record player.  
“There’s an Overwatch event going on right now so once we’re all moved in I might hyperfocus on it until I can get the rewards I want,” I said casually.  
“That’s fine,” Piper responded. “I’m still playing Animal Crossing and I can do that without having my Switch connected to the TV. You’ll just have to make sure Rachel doesn’t want to play Rise of the Tomb Raider.”  
“Oh, I’m sure Rachel will be fine with it. I’ll let her have all the time she wants once this event is over,” I replied, walking over to the couch and flopping facedown onto it. “Hey, when you go to Target for everything you forgot, do you want to get a rug?”  
“Hmm, maybe,” Piper said, looking up from the records she was sorting. “Are you thinking about putting it between the couch and TV?”  
“What are we putting between the couch and TV?” Rachel asked as she kicked open the door. This time she had a duffel bag on each arm and her backpack on her back. Her dad’s driver was carrying sacks of groceries and dragging a suitcase with him.  
“A rug, maybe?” I said, propping myself up on the couch.  
“Sounds like a good idea. Hey, before I unpack, do you guys want to continue our yearly tradition of lunch at The Morning Catch? I’m starving and desperately need to eat good cheap seafood.”  
“Sure!” I smiled. Our tradition had started freshman year, when Rachel and I were reluctant roommates who weren’t sure about how we’d get along and Piper was our neighbor in a single dorm. Rachel and I had just been left by our respective parents, her mom and dad had dropped her off and my dad and step mom had made the drive. My mother was too busy running her architectural firm to take the day off to drop her daughter off at college. We were warily trying to figure out what to do for lunch because the dining halls didn’t open for another day when Piper knocked on our door and asked if we wanted to get lunch with her because she was lonely. After that day, it was the three of us against the world.  
“Yeah, we just need to be back by three. Jason is getting here then and I’m really excited to see him!” Piper and Jason had been dating since second semester of freshman year. Rachel and I weren’t entirely sure what she saw in him but he seemed to make her happy.  
“Okay, let’s leave now then,” Rachel said, checking the Apple Watch strapped to her wrist. “We can probably just take it to go so you can see him.”  
The three of us piled out the door with Rachel’s father’s driver close behind. Piper stopped to lock it and Rachel waved goodbye to her driver and then we all rushed towards the elevators, happy to be together again after a long summer apart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for not uploading last week, I got dumped and my mental health was less than stellar so I took the week to kind of reset. Also this chapter is kind of short which I'm sorry about! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Percy  
“That restaurant was good and not too expensive, so if you find yourself tired of dining hall food you at least know of one place to get food that you can’t get at home,” my mom said as we walked back to Calliope Hall.  
“Yeah for sure,” I responded. “Also when you guys come to visit we know of a restaurant that all of us like so we don’t have to search for one.”  
“Are you sure you have everything? You don’t need to go shopping for more stuff? Do you want us to come up and make sure your room looks all tidy?” my mom asked as my dorm building came into view.  
“I’m okay, Mom. I’m almost 21, I don’t need to be babied,” I laughed, giving her a one-armed hug.  
“I can’t believe you’re turning 21 next week. I feel so old. Like just yesterday you were Estelle’s age,” my mom’s eyes started turning misty.  
“Hey, don’t cry. I promise I’ll call and check in. Don’t worry, you won’t have to go for too long without hearing from me.”  
“Well, it looks like we’re here,” Paul said, gesturing to the doors of Calliope Hall. “Do you want us to leave you here?”  
“That would be okay,” I answered, offering a small smile.   
Paul reached out and gave me a handshake, “Be smart and make good choices. And for God’s sake if you need a second set of eyes on an essay don’t hesitate to contact me. I review that kind of stuff for a living.”  
“I will, don’t worry,” I laughed. I knelt down so I was eye-level with Estelle. “See you, kiddo. Don’t cause too much trouble while I’m gone.”  
Estelle threw her arms around me. “Bye bye, Percy!” she babbled. I hugged her for a moment then released her so she could return to her Barbies. I stood up and looked at my mom who already had tears shining in her eyes.  
“I’m going to miss you, honey,” she said, her voice cracking a bit with emotion.  
“I’m going to miss you too, Mom,” I hugged her tightly. “I love you and I’ll be home for Thanksgiving before you know it.”  
“I love you too. Be safe and remember you can always call me, okay?”  
“Okay. Bye, Mom.”  
“Bye, hon.”  
I scanned my ID card and walked into the doors of Calliope Hall, throwing a wave over my shoulder at my family. As I got on the elevator, my phone dinged. It was a text from Jason letting me know he would be getting to the room in about half an hour. I sent him a quick response as I walked down the hall to our room. Finally, I opened the door and settled onto the futon, turning on an episode of The Clone Wars to pass the time. After about a whole episode, the doorknob turned and a blond head popped into the room.  
“Hey, Percy!” Jason asked, dragging a suitcase into the room behind him.  
“Yeah! Nice to finally meet you in person!” I said, standing up from the futon and grabbing the door.  
“You too, man!” he answered enthusiastically. “Hey, I think my girlfriend, Piper, might stop by soon. She moved in earlier today. You don’t mind if she comes over, right?”  
“No that’s fine,” I said. “Do you guys want to be alone? I can go explore campus a bit.”  
“Maybe?” he winced. “I promise I won’t always be a dick about kicking you out when my girlfriend comes over.”  
“Don’t worry about it,” I laughed. “I wanted to go look around campus and see if I could find my classes anyways. I might head out now if that’s okay.”  
“Yeah, sure. There are definitely some fun places around here.”  
I smiled and then waved as I left the dorm.

Annabeth  
“God, it’s good to be back,” I said as we walked down the street to The Morning Catch.  
“Right?” Rachel asked. “Like as much as I enjoy annoying my dad with my so-called socialist bullshit, it’s nice to no longer have to argue with my parents about whether or not climate change is real and affected by his corporation.”  
“True, but it’s also just nice to be around a ton of young adults again. Like no matter what, I know someone else has their life less together than I do,” Piper responded, eyeing a brunette girl in a black tube top throwing up in the middle of the street.  
“Ew,” I scrunched up my nose. “I forgot about people getting that smashed before sunset. It’s slightly less good to be back.”  
“Oh, I don’t know, I think it’s part of the charm of a college town,” Rachel laughed.  
“Rach, I don’t think charm is the word you want to use,” I smiled as we walked up to The Morning Catch. It was a small restaurant, decorated to look like one of the little hole-in-the-wall shops you might find on a beach. The walls were covered in various fishing poles and photos, and the tables were packed even in the middle of the afternoon.  
“So, since I should actually have enough time to sit and eat lunch, are we thinking vegan crab dip to share and start the year off right?” Piper asked as we were seated at our table.  
“Of course! We definitely shouldn’t tempt fate by not following tradition!” I said with mock-seriousness. Rachel picked up her menu and started flipping through it.  
“Rach, why are you looking through the menu? We’ve been going here at least once a month for two years now don’t you have it memorized?” Piper teased.  
“Sometimes it’s nice to refresh your memory, Pipes,” Rachel retorted. After a few more minutes of back-and-forth, the waitress came to take our orders.  
“How’s Jason?” I asked once our food arrived.  
“He’s good. He’s not living with Octavian anymore so we don’t have to worry about his creepy stuffed animal collection anymore,” Piper rolled her eyes.  
“Listen, if you told me that Octavian had killed someone I would believe you, no questions asked,” Rachel said seriously.  
“Yeah, that guy was really creepy,” I shuddered.  
“Is he living alone this year?” Rachel asked.  
“No, he’s got a roommate. I think his name’s Percy? They’re on the other half of our floor,” Piper said. “Jason told me they talked a bit over the summer and he seems cool. He transferred here this year and he’s on the swim team.”  
“That’s fun,” I said, only half paying attention.   
“We have a swim team?” Rachel sounded genuinely surprised.  
“Rach, Olympus University has an Olympics-grade pool. Did you think that was just for fun?” I answered.  
“No,” Rachel said emphatically. “I just never noticed it. To be fair, when I go to the pool part of the gym I’m typically heading straight for the hot tub.”  
“Shit!” Piper hissed as she checked her phone. “I need to head back. Jason just got here and he needs help unpacking.” Piper dug some cash out of her purse and dropped it on the table as she got up. “I’ll see you guys later!”  
“Bye!” Rachel and I chorused.  
“Sometimes it still baffles me that she’s dating a frat boy,” Rachel sighed.  
“Okay, let’s be fair here. It’s a business frat because he’s a business major. It makes sense,” I responded.  
“She’s dating a frat boy,” Rachel doubled down. “Maybe his new roommate will be cool though.”  
“I’m sure we’ll meet him eventually. Jason does seem to end up invited to a lot of the things we do.”  
It wasn’t that Rachel and I didn’t like Jason. He was a perfectly fine and normal guy. It just got annoying when Piper invited him to girls’ night or ditched our pre-made plans to go hang out with him. We paid for our food and then got up to go back to the dorm. I smiled as I looked around campus. It really was good to be back.


End file.
